A NORTH Wales port has revealed major expansion plans to cater for the next generation of giant wind turbines.
The Port of Mostyn in Flintshire has applied to Natural Resources Wales (NRW) for a marine licence to build a new 350 metre long quay wall and reclaim 4.5 hectares of land behind it.
Dredging work would also be needed to create new berths for ships whilst deepening existing berths while the approach channel would have to be re-dredged.
If the scheme gets the go-ahead, construction is expected to take around 21 months, depending on the weather.
In the meantime, the port is in discussion with wind farm developers in both the Irish Sea and the Celtic Sea about potentially using Mostyn as a base.
The port can lay claim to being the birthplace of offshore wind energy in the UK two decades ago.
The first two wind farms, North Hoyle off the coast of North Wales and Robin Rigg in the Solway Firth, were built there.
Managing Director Jim O’Toole said: “The current berths are not capable of handling the significantly larger and heavier turbines to be installed in future.
“This application has involved a great deal of detailed work over the past two years because we want to make sure that we are ahead of the game to cater for the new wave of offshore turbines.
“It’s vital that we have all our ducks in a row to make sure we are well placed to take advantage of any future opportunities.
“The current energy crisis is concentrating minds and has underlined the urgent need to increase our renewable energy capacity.
“Mostyn was the first port to be used for the construction and installation of offshore wind turbines in UK territorial waters when the North Hoyle wind farm was commissioned.
“Since that time the port has been involved in the construction of a further six offshore wind farm projects, three of which have established operations and maintenance bases there, employing around 140 people.
“For the past two years Mostyn has been compiling a Marine Works application to enable the expansion of its infrastructure that will be required to handle the much larger wind turbines and construction vessels planned for future wind farms off the North Wales coast.
“The new infrastructure will be multi-purpose to enable fabrication and assembly of both fixed foundation and floating turbines.
“This expansion will include a new quay wall of 350 metres length and sufficient water depth and load bearing to enable the most modern construction vessels to berth alongside at all states of the tide.
“The work will include creating an additional nine acres of land adjacent to the berths for the storage and assembly of turbine components prior to being shipped to the windfarm’s offshore location.
“The application was recently submitted to NRW and is presently out for public consultation.
“The intention is that mobilisation for the construction will commence as soon as the licence application is determined by NRW.”
